General

=Prefectural Advisors= Every prefecture employs either JETs or CIRs to be the Prefectural Advisors. There is also a Japanese PA representative appointed to assist Contracting Organisations. PAs assist JET participants in their area with questions relating to life and work issues. With the exception of illegal activities, JETs can contact PAs secure in the knowledge that their confidentiality will be maintained. Please note however that there are limitations to what a PA can do.

For the current JET year 2014-2015, the PAs are two English speaking ALTs and one Japanese PA. Our names are Nick, Jacy and Mori-san. We are more than happy to listen to any problem big or small and will try our utmost best to help in any way we can. Excepting information about illegal activity (which we are legally obligated to report), everything you tell us will be kept strictly confidential. The three of us may consult with each other, but we will not disclose anything you tell us to anybody else without your explicit permission.

Nick
Hello, my name is Nick. I'm a gemini and I like long walks on the beaches. I also like listening to conch shells on the beach with a special someone. I'm not opposed to taking lots of cutesy pictures and love to show my feminine si. . . err. . . umm. . . yeah. . . that's for another profile. So my name is Nick, I'm a 5th year JET, but have been living here for the last 7 years. I'm originally from the city of angels, Los Angeles. Thanks to years of watching summer action movies and a masochistic upbringing, if you need something fixed, built or a dare/challenge to give then give me a call and I'll be there in two shakes of a lambs tail. Yippee-ki-yay ...

Jacinthe a.k.a. JC, Jacy
Bonjour! I'm Jacinthe

Emi Mori
Hello everyone. My name is Emi Mori. This is my first year as the JPA

=WAJET/AJET= The Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching, or AJET, is a support and social network for JET Programme participants. A national organisation, AJET organises cultural, sporting and charity events, publishes a range of books and information, maintains a counselling service, and represents JETs and their concerns to CLAIR. AJET has existed since the inception of the JET Programme and continues to be a volunteer organisation, run by JETs, for JETs. First years will be given the opportunity to join at Tokyo Orientation, and at time of writing, joining National AJET is free. For more information, visit http://ajet.net/

WAJET is the Wakayama chapter of AJET. It is currently chaired by Nick, Ben, Maggie, and Jennifer

=Acronyms= There are three job positions on JET, and the majority of JETs are ALTs. ALTs are usually placed in schools or BOEs and teach English with JTEs.
 * AJET - The Association for Japan Exchange and Teaching
 * ALT - Assistant Language Teacher
 * BOE - Board of Education.

Most ALTs are employed by a BOE, and most of the high school ALTs and junior high school ALTs in Wakayama work for municipal BOEs. The Wakayam Prefectural BOE also organizes local training seminars for all Wakayama ALTs.
 * CIR - Coordinator for International Relations

CIR is one of the three positions on JET. The job description of a CIR varies drastically between contracting organizations. There are 2 CIRs in Wakayama, see CIRs.


 * CLAIR - Council of Local Authorities for International Relations

CLAIR is the organization that manages the JET Programme. They organize the major JET conferences, publish the Contracting Organisation Manual and General Information Handbook, and coordinate everything with all of the contracting organizations and the three Ministries (MIC, MOFA, and MEXT). For more info, visit ttp://www.jetprogramme.org/e/organisations/clair.html
 * CO - Contracting Organization

The people who hired you. For ALTs at high schools or junior high schools, your CO is most likely the city/town municipal BOEs, and the CIRs in Wakayama are employed by the Wakayama Prefectural Office. Your CO is not necessarily your place of work (ie, the school where you spend all of your time).


 * ESID - Every Situation Is Different

This expression has been used and abused so much it's almost unnecessary putting this here
 * JET - The Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme

JET does not stand for Japan English Teaching. Though most JETs teach English, not all JETs are all ALTs, and some ALTs teach other languages (Chinese, French, etc.). There are three positions on JET: ALT, CIR, and SEA. JET Participants are also called JETs.
 * JETAA - JET Programme Alumni Association

After leaving JET, many people join JETAA, an independent alumni association, so that they can keep up with the JET community.
 * JHS - Junior High School

Junior high school, or lower secondary school, spans three years in Japan. 1st-3rd grade in JHS in Japan is the equivalent of 7th-9th grade in America.


 * JTE - Japanese Teacher of English JTL - Japanese Teacher of Language

ALTs are not required to teach by themselves, and are instead supposed to assist the JTEs (or JTLs) at their schools. JTEs also attend some seminars with ALTs so that they can work on effective team teaching techniques.
 * MEXT - Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology

MEXT is one of the three Ministries that work with CLAIR to run the JET Programme. For more info, visit http://www.jetprogramme.org/index.html
 * MIC - Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

MIC is one of the three Ministries that work with CLAIR to run the JET Programme. For more info, visit http://www.jetprogramme.org/index.html
 * MOFA - Ministry of Foreign Affairs

MOFA is one of the three Ministries that work with CLAIR to run the JET Programme. For more info, visit http://www.jetprogramme.org/index.html
 * PA - Prefectural Advisor

Every host prefecture/designated city has at least one Prefectural Advisor who is available to answer questions and provide support for JET participants.
 * PC - Program Coordinator

Former JET participants whose main responsibilities include helping with the organisation of JET programme orientations, conferences, Japanese language courses, and programme material
 * SEA - Sports Exchange Advisor

The scarcest of all JETs, SEAs usually specialize in a sport which they coach or teach while they are in Japan. As of writing, there are three SEAs in Wakayama.
 * SGL - Self-Support Group Leader

The SGL system was established to provide support for JETs whose first language is not English. There are SGLs that speak Chinese, French, German, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. For more info, visit http://www.jetprogramme.org/index.html
 * SHS - Senior High School

Senior High School, or upper secondary school, spans three years in Japan. 1st-3rd grade in SHS in Japan is the equivalent of 10th-12th grade in America.
 * TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language and TESL - Teaching English as a Second Language

Two acronyms that get thrown around that mean pretty much the same thing in Japan.
 * TOA - Tokyo Orientation Assistant

The volunteers at Tokyo Orientation who make the welcome orientation everything that it is. For more information, see http://www.jetprogramme.org/index.html

=Information Centers=

Tanabe International Exchange Center
=Useful Links=

JET - JET Programme Homepage, National AJET, Ministry of Foreign Affair

Living - Gaijinpot, Savvy Tokyo

Trains, Buses - Hyperdia, Japan Bus Web

News - Asahi online, Japan Times

Guide to Japan - Japan Guide, About.com - Japan, The Japan Page